An Idaho Democrat’s case for Roth dropping out of the Senate race | Opinion

Idaho could instantly shift from a national election flyover state to a battleground for balance of power in Washington, D.C.

In November, the control of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives sits on a knife’s edge. The electoral ecosystem is constantly weighing which congressional races need to play offense and defense. In toss-up races, the money flow and overall attention is substantial. The U.S. Senate race in Idaho should be on that list.

For hints of what’s at stake in this election cycle, the recent primary election in Texas is instructive. At least $130 million was spent in the GOP primary to defeat U.S. Sen. John Cornyn and nominate Attorney General Ken Paxton to face off against Democrat James Talarico in November.

Ironically, the May 25 runoff in Texas pleased both the Democrats and the Republicans. Democrats view Paxton as the weaker opponent, and MAGA revolted against an entrenched GOP incumbent squishy on sycophancy. Sparks will fly in Texas as a race that should have been a shoo-in for Cornyn is now competitive with Paxton as the Republican nominee.

If that doesn’t show how every competitive Senate race matters this cycle, consider Nebraska, where a mix of pragmatic and hardball politics is playing out in that state’s U.S. Senate race. The winner of the May Democratic primary, Cindy Burbank, has pledged to drop out of the race and endorse independent candidate Dan Osborn against Republican incumbent Sen. Pete Ricketts. Burbank’s tactical move is influenced by the Nebraska Democratic Party, which preferred Osborn as its candidate for the general election. To be sure, the state and national GOP operatives would prefer Burbank to stay in the race, split the vote and allow Ricketts to coast to victory.

However, with a high profile and expensive race between Osborn and Ricketts, sparks will fly in Nebraska, too.

Something similar could be taking shape in Montana, where former Democratic Sen. Jon Tester is backing independent senatorial candidate Seth Bodnar. Money was already flowing to Bodnar in advance of the four-way Democratic primary held on Tuesday. It’s uncertain whether pragmatism will prevail post-primary with a Democratic Party deferral to independent Bodnar. The state and national GOP gurus would prefer a three-way race to avoid an expensive shootout in Montana.

Which brings us to Idaho. The Gem State’s Senate race would demand national attention if it were a head-to-head race between independent Todd Achilles and incumbent Republican Jim Risch. Why? The path to victory for Army veteran Achilles would be enhanced dramatically with 250,000 unaffiliated Idaho voters during President Donald Trump’s war of choice in Iran and rising consumer prices. Substantial national resources would have to be committed to rescue the 83-year-old Risch as Achilles steadily gains traction.

Of course, each state has its own set of dynamics and political power centers. Let’s examine Idaho.

Perennial Democratic candidate and loyal party foot soldier David Roth won the May 19 Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate. Here is his general election record:

• In 2020, Roth collected 35% against Marco Erickson for Idaho state representative
• In 2022, Roth garnered 29% against U.S. Sen. Mike Crapo
• In 2024, Roth got 31% against Congressman Mike Simpson

There’s an unpromising pattern here with a 100% predictable outcome.

Roth filed in 2025 to run against Risch. In a recent Federal Elections Commission filing, Roth showed a negative balance of cash on hand after raising only $8,000 in a full year. There is very little evidence of a campaign infrastructure, committee or voter engagement.

As much as I admire tenacity, there is not a snowball’s chance in hell that Roth will improve on the zero-for-three record of his prior campaigns. In fact, his presence in the race almost assures Risch a victory, allowing him to serve in the U.S. Senate until he’s 89.

Here’s the operative question: Would Risch prefer that Roth stay in the race or drop out and endorse Achilles, who is running a full-throated, well-financed, issues-oriented campaign for the Senate?

Clearly, Risch would be ecstatic if Roth stayed put. Risch could then have tacit permission to stay the course of no debates, negative, self-serving ads, zero town hall meetings, no accountability for the Iran War, no explanation of this Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairperson’s no-policy foreign policy and low engagement of voters. He would continue to exhibit an arrogance of power that accompanies his autopilot reelection prospects. Idaho deserves better.

The best course for Idaho and the United States would be for Roth to channel the pragmatic decision of Burbank in Nebraska. Roth should drop out of this hopeless and biennial cause, endorse Achilles for the U.S. Senate and ask the Idaho Democratic Party to do the same. This unselfish act would allow Idaho to have a fully funded, fully debated, fully visible and fully engaged campaign for the U.S. Senate. Then, Idaho would become part of the national electoral map of 2026 as the country redirects its priorities.

Flyover state no more! It’s been a while.

I am a lifelong Idaho Democrat who has proudly run for and served in the U.S. House of Representatives. I make this respectful public plea for decisive action by my fellow Democrat David Roth. This is a pivotal year for our great country to return to the constitutional checks and balances intended by our Founding Fathers. It will take courage, deep introspection and personal sacrifice by each of us to get it right.

Let’s allow sparks to fly in the 2026 Idaho elections with a clean Achilles/Risch face-off and become a true battleground state.

It’s Idaho’s turn.

LaRocco, of Boise, represented Idaho’s 1st Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives as a Democrat from 1991-95. This column originally appeared in the Lewiston Tribune.